When your life is a question waiting to be answered…

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I always have the best of intentions and plans for Elul. Really I do. I usually plan a new class or book to read on it. I look forward to the month anticipating all the wonderful deep spiritual work I'm going to do. And then, it always seems like life happens. Elul is the season … Continue reading The Ups and Downs of Elul

The man who owned our house before us got a really great deal on some very drab beige paint. I know this because there are still 5 gallon buckets of it in the basement and it covers all the walls, ceilings, and up until last week, even the crown moulding. That beige is everywhere, making … Continue reading Elul and the Great De-Beigification of 2019

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary and, as usual, the biggest question most of my friends had was "How long have you been married?" In this case, like so many others with my family, this was a simple question with a complicated answer. It all depends on how you look at us. From a Jewish perspective, … Continue reading One Year A Jew and One Year Married…Again

The title of this blog, "The Safek" refers to the Hebrew word, safek, for question. Up until last summer, that question was my husband, who lived his life in the awkward position of neither being a Jew nor NOT a Jew for 7 long years before that question was answered. (Spoiler alert...he was a Jew … Continue reading A Year as a Jew and More Questions

A year ago, we were anxiously awaiting our meeting with the Beis Din. We were hoping and praying and adjusting to life down from Alaska. A year ago, we drove all the way to Brooklyn, NY through the night. Now I'm planning a trip back to New York in August for work as an Orthodox … Continue reading A Year After

It was a year ago that we left Alaska and boarded a plane for the midwest. Since then, it's been a hectic year with our conversions, Mr. Safek's heart surgery, and the busy-ness of living in a fully functioning Chassidic community. I have loved this year, even the tough parts. Our children both had some … Continue reading The Tree House and Another Move

This weekend, in a Chabad house not that different from my own Synagogue, a man opened fire and shot and killed a woman who dove in front of her Rabbi, saving his life. several others were injured. They were there celebrating the last days of Passover, much like I was, thousands of miles away. They … Continue reading Freedom From Hate?

Surrender is something I always want to be good at, but really struggle with. A great example is anesthesia. When I was 15 years old, I had to have my wisdom teeth extracted in a surgery. For this, they had to put me under and when I woke up, I heard the WORST language being … Continue reading Surrendering to Surrender…Again

Sometimes, despite your best intentions and planning, holidays go sideways. This is how we ended up at the emergency room yesterday on the second day of Passover. My husband is a type 2 diabetic on an insulin pump, along with high blood pressure, heart disease, and a triple bypass last Fall. Even before we lit … Continue reading Passover and Freedom from the Emergency Room

At some point in the conversion process, one of the biggest hurdles almost every convert encounters is finding a home or rental in an Orthodox Jewish community. It's a non-negotiable. No respectable, accepted Rabbinical Court will convert you unless you live within walking distance of an Orthodox Synagogue, preferably within a thriving Orthodox community that … Continue reading Home Buying…as an Orthodox Jew

Today I had one of THOSE moments where something just shifted into place. They happen every so often. This particular moment happened in the grocery store as I stood there with a bad chest cold trying to figure out what ingredients to grab to make some chicken soup. My throat was sore, my head full … Continue reading You Know You’re REALLY Jewish When…